CHP’s Stash of Confiscated Weapons, and What They Do with Them

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SACRAMENTO-

Ever wonder what your fellow drivers are hiding as you buzz down the highway? FOX40 went to the California Highway Patrol to check out their stash of confiscated weapons.

The weapons range from the mundane to the eye-popping. In the stash, a gun identical to the one ‘Dirty Harry’ used, all the way down to a club with spikes on the end that you might expect to see in the movie ‘Braveheart’

“It’s interesting to see what you find out there on a daily basis and it just showcases the dangers of making a normal enforcement stop,” said Officer Adrian Quintero with the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP pulls roughly 2000 weapons off California roads every year. Most are store bought, but others, like a homemade force shotgun are decidedly not.

“Who knows what the intention is of these types of weapons, it’s obviously not good,” said Quintero.

Once a year, these weapons – from a knife larger than most hands, to the girliest pistol imaginable – are shipped to Rancho Cucamunga and turned into the the ultimate State of California recycling project.

“They’re actually taken and disposed of, they’re melted and made into rebar,” said Quintero.

Yep. You read that right. The rebar at the new CHP headquarters in Sacramento, is made from melted down weapons.